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Hello everyone, I’m new to the sharpening and some of the choices are not too obvious for me.I would like to combine optimum set without breaking a bank and clattering apartment with very rarely used stones…

Since your knife is brand new, you can touch it up with any stone 1K or 2K range.You need a flattening plate to keep your stone level.I just got the Naniwa Aotoshi green brick, it's a great stone, very versatile, you can achieve anywhere from a 500 to 3000 grit with this one stone.You should be able to get a nice toothy edge using just the green brick, and finish stropping with the horse leather. The felt block willhelp remove any residual burr.Note******This is a very big stone, literally the size of a brick. Make sure you have a good spot to store it.

Since you live in a apartment, another option would be any of the combo stones you chose above.You could start out on the 1K side, and finish on the 6K side, some guys just strop on the 6K side.

Eventually you will need a lower grit stone 300-400 range to sharpen a really dull knife. You can worry about that later.As long as you maintain your edge, it should be quite a while before you need this stone.Good luck with your purchase.

_________________If God wanted me to be a vegetarian he wouldn't have made animals taste so good.

cedarhouse

Post subject: Re: Need advice how to combine correct sharpening set.

Posted: Sun Mar 09, 2014 2:18 pm

Joined: Thu May 24, 2012 12:20 amPosts: 4209

If you are trying to keep clutter down, you might consider holding off on a sink bridge. I often sharpen on a piece of shelf liner on the side of the sink. It is a bit messy, but cleanup next to the sink is easy. I recently started using a homemade sink bridge (made out of a scrap of 2x4), it is nice, but it is another piece of clutter to deal with.

As far as stones, I have limited experience with the stones you have listed, though all are highly thought of. I do have the Green Brick and it is a great value for the money, but it is soft and dishes moderately quickly and I am starting to develop an appreciation of harder stones. To that end you might lean toward the Shapton Glass, Shapton Pro (the Pros are a particularly compact solution), or the Nubatama Ume line. I do have the Ume 1k speckled (http://www.chefknivestogo.com/nubatamaume1k1.html). It is much harder than the Green Brick and cuts extremely fast. It is a near splash and go stone so almost no soaking is required. It feels coarser than other stones I have used in the 1k range but leaves a nice enough edge and gets there quickly. CKTG is out of stock on that stone at the moment, but you can contact Ken Schwartz on this forum and he has some. Unfortunately, I cannot personally vouch for any of the finer stones because I do not like the finer grit stones I own (don't worry, you are not looking at any of them).

As far as a flattening stone, you could consider saving some money up front and using sandpaper on a trued surface. Over time it will likely cost a bit more, but in the short term it is cheaper and there is not an additional diamond plate to keep up with, just buy a pack of sandpaper, use and discard. It is likely you will appreciate having a diamond plate in time, but this is one of those items that you can get by without if need be.

estayton

Post subject: Re: Need advice how to combine correct sharpening set.

Posted: Sun Mar 09, 2014 7:42 pm

Joined: Sat Jan 04, 2014 2:57 pmPosts: 597

Cedarhouse provides some good advice. I also do not use a sink bridge: I sharpen next to the sink on a towel and find that it makes cleanup easy enough.

I own and use the Rika 5K. It is somewhat soft, but I don't find that it dishes quickly enough to be an issue, it just can gouge a little. It does load up, so I tend to use a lot of water to keep the surface clear, but it has a nice feel and I find it to be a good grit level to end on, though I also strop on balsa for a bit more polish.

If you are going for minimal working set: a 1K stone, a 4-6K stone, and a flattening plate should do you until you need to do thinning. Then a low grit stone will be in order.

No need to put out the $ for an 8k, especially in a home setting. If you work the Arashiyama 6k it will give you up to an 8k finish.

You can replace the Bester 1k and green brick if you want the 2k Pro but I would then get the 500 grit Pro instead of the 320. -->Your set would then look like this - 500 Pro + 2k Pro + Arashiyama 6k. Steal a very good set for the price.

If you are set on getting an 8k I would get the green brick instead of the Pro 2k because it will give you a higher polish to take you to the 8k.--> Your set would then look like this - 500 Pro + 2k Green Brick + 8k. Snow white or Pro is your choice, both very good stones.

_________________If God wanted me to be a vegetarian he wouldn't have made animals taste so good.

alexg

Post subject: Re: Need advice how to combine correct sharpening set.

Posted: Sun Mar 09, 2014 10:22 pm

Joined: Mon Feb 24, 2014 4:10 pmPosts: 7

Thank you Jeff,I may missing a point , looks like I misunderstand difference between 6k & 8kWhy do you believe that I don't need 8k in a home settings ?I'm thinking that 2k give a decently sharp edge and applying 8k I will get not only polishing, but some thinning too?It is absolutely possible that I'm mistaken, As I sad I'm a new to all of this. would you be able to brief me on this?

Thank you,Alex

estayton

Post subject: Re: Need advice how to combine correct sharpening set.

Posted: Sun Mar 09, 2014 10:47 pm

Joined: Sat Jan 04, 2014 2:57 pmPosts: 597

If you want to do much thinning, a coarser stone, not a finer one, is what you need. Something in the 300-500 grit range would do for that. Thinning generally involves removing lots of material, and that is going to be slow at 2k, even slower at 6k, and really really slow at 8k.

What the 8k stone would give you is polish and refinement on the edge, but a 6k finish is plenty refined for most work and some people prefer not to go higher than that on purpose to retain the "bite" to the edge, a slight toothyness at the microscopic level.

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